Serious allegations emerged in court suggesting that a U.S. public relations firm acquired by HYBE was involved in a coordinated online manipulation campaign intended to socially discredit Min Hee Jin, the former CEO of ADOR.
The claims were first disclosed on December 18 during a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 31, presided over by Chief Judge Nam In Soo, in a lawsuit between Min Hee Jin and HYBE concerning the termination of their shareholder agreement.
According to litigation records revealed from a U.S. court, HYBE’s U.S. subsidiary HYBE America acquired a small PR firm named AG PR (The Agency Group PR) on August 1, 2024, for approximately 33.5 billion KRW (about 25 million USD). At the time of acquisition, the firm had existed for less than one year and employed only six people.
Less than two months after the acquisition, AG PR allegedly created a website that specifically targeted Min Hee Jin. Forensic evidence submitted to the U.S. court reportedly shows that the site contained false claims portraying her as a “criminal” and an “abuser of NewJeans,” among other defamatory accusations.
Court materials indicate that this was not the work of individual anti-fans. Min Hee Jin’s name was allegedly placed on an internal “target list” maintained by the PR firm, enabling a systematic and organized attack.
The PR firm is accused of using Black Hat SEO techniques, manipulating search engine algorithms so that hostile articles and defamatory websites would appear at the top of search results whenever the public searched Min Hee Jin’s name. The strategy allegedly created the appearance of organic public sentiment while deliberately misleading readers.
Similar methods have recently become controversial in Hollywood. Actress Blake Lively was reportedly subjected to a comparable campaign, in which the same PR firm allegedly attempted to frame her as having serious character flaws.
The firm’s founder, Melissa Nathan, is known for having led public opinion strategies during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorce trial. She has long been described as a crisis management specialist who dismantles perceived adversaries through aggressive narrative control.
As scrutiny from U.S. courts intensified, Blake Lively’s legal team reportedly issued subpoenas to HYBE America and its then CEO Scooter Braun, in an effort to uncover the source of the alleged smear campaigns.
Shortly afterward, Scooter Braun, who had spearheaded the acquisition of AG PR, abruptly resigned from his position as CEO of HYBE America in June. HYBE later disclosed in its third quarter 2025 report that it had sold its entire stake in AG PR, a firm it had purchased for 33.5 billion KRW (about 25 million USD) less than a year earlier.
The company has not explained why it divested such an acquisition so quickly, prompting growing demands from shareholders for clarification.
During the court hearing, Min Hee Jin expressed her anguish, stating, “I considered even the time spent getting out of bed or riding in a taxi to be precious because everything I did was for NewJeans’ success. My results prove that.”
If the U.S. court evidence is accurate, critics argue that while Min devoted herself to the artists’ achievements, HYBE’s controlling interests allegedly used shareholder funds worth tens of billions of KRW (tens of millions of USD) to finance efforts aimed at attacking an executive within its own subsidiary structure.
Despite Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin publicly stating that he received defamatory materials about Min Hee Jin from AG PR, HYBE has continued to deny any involvement, drawing increasing international criticism.
Public attention is now focused on HYBE and Chairman Bang Si Hyuk. Observers are questioning why a company that presents itself as a global leader in K-pop would allegedly adopt some of Hollywood’s most controversial public opinion manipulation techniques to target artists and producers.
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